2010′s % of Tackles Returning

The TRUCK IS HERE! That signals the “official” start of the College Football season when you have your Phil Steele College Football Preview in your hands.

To all of you who purchased the magazine over the winter and spring, we dropped your magazines in the envelopes today and they were the first ones out the door this morning!

After today all orders will be shipped within 24 hrs, unless ordered on Fri, Sat or Sun in which case they will go out on Monday. The cost is just $13.70. Call 1-866-918-7711 to order yours today or visit the PhilSteele.com store. The official on sale date of the magazine is June 8th, but some people have already seen them in the bookstores. If you see the magazine in your area before June 8th, just send me a note via the Questions and Answers with Phil Steele and we will post the different locations on our website.

Today’s blog continues my in-depth look at my new and improved experience chart. For 7 years I had listed an experience chart, which broke down the number of Seniors, Juniors, Sophomores and Freshmen each team had in the two deep and rated the teams experience level with a formula I devised. Last year, I made the experience chart FIVE TIMES better. I am just listing the Senior starters, and the seniors in the two deep and the points accumulated by using the system in the magazine (pg 311). In a future blog, I will break down each number of starters for the Junior, Sophomore and Freshman classes. The 2nd factor that goes into my overall chart is the % of yards returning which I featured in the April 28th blog. Another factor listed is the % of lettermen returning which I broke down over the weekend. Today I will discuss the % of tackles returning.

2010′s % of Tackles Returning

Rank

Team

% LTR Ret

Rank

Team

% LTR Ret

1

BOISE ST

91.70%

61

IOWA

70.60%

2

ARKANSAS

83.10%

62

TULANE

70.60%

3

S CAROLINA

83.10%

63

FLORIDA ST

70.50%

4

IDAHO

81.00%

64

TEXAS A&M

70.50%

5

TEMPLE

80.00%

65

LOUISVILLE

70.10%

6

NEBRASKA

79.70%

66

TOLEDO

69.80%

7

TCU

79.40%

67

WISCONSIN

69.70%

8

MARYLAND

79.30%

68

OHIO STATE

69.60%

9

UCF

79.30%

69

CONNECTICUT

69.60%

10

N CAROLINA

78.00%

70

VIRGINIA

69.40%

11

OHIO

78.00%

71

DUKE

69.00%

12

KENT ST

77.80%

72

MICHIGAN ST

69.00%

13

LA TECH

77.80%

73

PITTSBURGH

69.00%

14

RICE

77.30%

74

ARMY

69.00%

15

OREGON ST

77.30%

75

IOWA ST

68.90%

16

GEORGIA TECH

77.10%

76

MICHIGAN

68.80%

17

SMU

76.80%

77

BOWLING GREEN

68.30%

18

SOUTH FLORIDA

76.60%

78

LOUISIANA

68.30%

19

MISS ST

76.60%

79

NEW MEXICO ST

68.30%

20

KANSAS

76.50%

80

PURDUE

67.70%

21

MARSHALL

75.40%

81

TEXAS

67.60%

22

CALIFORNIA

75.30%

82

USC

67.50%

23

ILLINOIS

75.00%

83

INDIANA

67.20%

24

TULSA

75.00%

84

BAYLOR

67.10%

25

UAB

75.00%

85

OKLAHOMA

67.10%

26

BUFFALO

75.00%

86

UTAH

67.10%

27

AIR FORCE

75.00%

87

ARKANSAS ST

67.10%

28

MIDDLE TENN

75.00%

88

N ILLINOIS

66.70%

29

FRESNO ST

75.00%

89

FIU

66.70%

30

UTAH ST

75.00%

90

GEORGIA

66.20%

31

AKRON

74.70%

91

TENNESSEE

66.20%

32

HOUSTON

74.60%

92

BOSTON COLLEGE

65.60%

33

COLORADO ST

74.20%

93

SOUTHERN MISS

65.60%

34

C MICHIGAN

74.10%

94

UCLA

65.20%

35

MIAMI, OH

73.90%

95

VANDERBILT

64.90%

36

BALL ST

73.70%

96

KANSAS ST

64.50%

37

ARIZONA

73.40%

97

RUTGERS

64.30%

38

NORTHWESTERN

73.30%

98

UTEP

64.30%

39

COLORADO

73.30%

99

MEMPHIS

64.30%

40

NEVADA

73.00%

100

FAU

64.00%

41

STANFORD

72.90%

101

VIRGINIA TECH

63.90%

42

UNLV

72.70%

102

BYU

63.90%

43

N TEXAS

72.70%

103

TROY

63.90%

44

WASHINGTON

72.50%

104

SAN DIEGO ST

63.80%

45

TEXAS TECH

72.30%

105

FLORIDA

63.60%

46

MISSOURI

72.10%

106

MISSISSIPPI

63.50%

47

CINCINNATI

72.10%

107

MINNESOTA

63.30%

48

NEW MEXICO

72.10%

108

PENN ST

63.20%

49

SYRACUSE

71.90%

109

ALABAMA

63.10%

50

OREGON

71.90%

110

KENTUCKY

63.00%

51

CLEMSON

71.80%

111

WYOMING

62.50%

52

MIAMI, FL

71.80%

112

HAWAII

62.30%

53

W MICHIGAN

71.40%

113

NOTRE DAME

61.10%

54

WASH ST

71.40%

114

ULM

60.60%

55

AUBURN

71.40%

115

SAN JOSE ST

60.30%

56

E MICHIGAN

71.00%

116

WEST VIRGINIA

59.60%

57

WKU

71.00%

117

N CAROLINA ST

59.20%

58

ARIZONA ST

70.80%

118

E CAROLINA

58.90%

59

LSU

70.80%

119

OKLAHOMA ST

57.90%

60

WAKE FOREST

70.60%

120

NAVY

55.20%

Boise St again comes in at #1 (also #1 in letterman, yards) with 94.86%. The Broncos return 10 starters and were led by returning SS Jeron Johnson last year (91 tkls). Interestingly their in-state rival Idaho, who is fresh off their first winning season since 1999 returns 90.65% of their tackles and were led by FS Shiloh Keo (113 tkls). UAB is #3 with 87.32%.

At the bottom of the list is defending National Champ Alabama (34.96%) who returns just 2 starters from last year’s great defense (244 ypg, 11.7 ppg). They lose six of their top seven tacklers from last including #1 Rolando McClain (105 tkls). SS Mark Barron (76 tkls) is the only player that returns with 35+ tkls.

2-time defending CUSA Champ East Carolina (37.96%) is #119 and like the Crimson Tide return only 2 starters on D. The Pirates lost seven of their top eight tacklers from a year ago. At #118, is Arizona who returns just 39.07% of their tackles and lost their top four from a year ago.

Please check PhilSteele.com everyday to get my Top 30 Countdown, which posted #17 Arkansas yesterday. Thru June 16th, I will post both magazine pages on a new team ranked in the Top 30 and you can get an early look on how I breakdown your favorite team. Remember those magazine pages are available for only 24 hours for you to download. Today, Notre Dame comes in at #16.

I will be back tomorrow to take another factor at my experience chart with the number of career OL starts.